UMBC’s Melanie Denischuk (Poway, Calif./Hugh Sutherland/Indian River CC/Auburn) earns her second America East Player of the Week award of the season, while Boston University’s Cassidi Hardy (Jupiter, Fla./Jupiter) and Stony Brook’s Sarah Hoffman (Commack, N.Y./Commack) share Pitcher of the week honors. Hardy also split Rookie of the Week accolades with Courtney O'Hara (Pasadena, Md./Institute of Notre Dame) of UMBC. The awards were announced Monday (March 27).
Denischuk hit .474 (9-for-19) with four homers, seven runs scored and nine RBI in six games. She collected 21 total bases for a 1.105 slugging percentage, and with four walks, she reached base at a .565 clip. Denischuk went 2-for-2 with three runs scored, two walks and a solo home run against George Mason, and then went 2-for-3 with a three-run home run against Sacred Heart. The homer against the Pioneers put the Retrievers ahead, 8-0, in the fourth and proved to be the game-winner. Against St. Francis (N.Y.), she went 3-for-5 with two runs scored, a home run and four RBI. She hit her fourth home run of the week in UMBC’s 9-1 win over Brown.
Hardy tossed a pair of complete game shutouts over the weekend. On Saturday, she allowed just three hits and struck out five in a five-inning 13-0 whitewashing of Central Connecticut State. On Sunday, she dominated Holy Cross, allowing just one hit while fanning eight in a 1-0 Terrier win. She allowed her only hit in the fourth inning and allowed just one Crusader to reach third base. It was the first one-hitter of her career. The shutouts were also the first two of her career and enabled her to improve to 4-6 on the season.
Hoffman pitched three shutout gems for the Seawolves this week. She pitched in the 8-0 win over Manhattan, throwing a three-hit shutout while striking out three. Against Columbia, she recorded a six-hit shutout while striking out seven. In her final appearance on the weekend against Quinnipiac, Hoffman scattered five hits while fanning six to improve her record to 4-3 on the year with a team best 1.99 ERA.
O’Hara hit .818 (9-for-11) with six runs scored and six RBI in six games on the week. Six of her nine hits went for extra bases, including four doubles, a triple and a home run. She collected 18 total bases for a 1.636 slugging percentage on the week, and with three walks, she reached base at an .857 clip. O’Hara went 2-for-2 with two runs scored and three RBI in the Retrievers’ 17-1 victory over St. Francis (N.Y.) on March 24, hitting a double and her second-career home run in the game, a three-run shot to straightaway center. She went 2-for-3 with a run and a triple in UMBC’s 4-2 loss to Niagara on March 25, and she was 2-for-2 with two doubles, two runs scored, two RBI and a walk and a stolen base in the Retrievers’ 9-1 win over Brown that same day. She also went 2-for-2 with an RBI, a double and two walks in UMBC’s 6-4 loss to Brown on March 26.